What to do when a bat comes to visit? (houses, buy)

[DareToDream]

We had a bat get in the house the other night. Evidently when my husband let the dog out, the little sucker (the bat, not hubby or dog) came in with them. I had already gone to bed and heard all the activity, which was really quite comical to listen to - the cat evidently got on the back of the recliner, stood up and batted at the bat, but didn't do much except throw it off course, the dog was chasing and jumping and my husband was, well, not real happy...I could hear him talking out loud about what to do (The cat and dog eventually decided they didn't want anything to do with this new critter and both of them came barrelling into the bedroom and I closed the door so it couldn't get in there)

He finally decided to try to knock it down with a broom. Unfortunately, the broom was old and part of it flew off and the broom broke, but the bat was still flying around. I could hear DH jumping and saying something about wishing he had a tennis racquet handy, THEN he could get the sucker

What is the best way to handle a bat in the house? I know they're good for eating bugs and such outside, but I really don't want to share our living space with one

Any suggestions, should it happen again?

(I feel like a zoo keeper or something with all these questions about bears, moose, Big Foot, fisher cats, etc., etc.)

[NH2NCMom]

Originally Posted by DareToDream

We had a bat get in the house the other night. Evidently when my husband let the dog out, the little sucker (the bat, not hubby or dog) came in with them. I had already gone to bed and heard all the activity, which was really quite comical to listen to - the cat evidently got on the back of the recliner, stood up and batted at the bat, but didn't do much except throw it off course, the dog was chasing and jumping and my husband was, well, not real happy...I could hear him talking out loud about what to do (The cat and dog eventually decided they didn't want anything to do with this new critter and both of them came barrelling into the bedroom and I closed the door so it couldn't get in there)

He finally decided to try to knock it down with a broom. Unfortunately, the broom was old and part of it flew off and the broom broke, but the bat was still flying around. I could hear DH jumping and saying something about wishing he had a tennis racquet handy, THEN he could get the sucker

What is the best way to handle a bat in the house? I know they're good for eating bugs and such outside, but I really don't want to share our living space with one

Any suggestions, should it happen again?

(I feel like a zoo keeper or something with all these questions about bears, moose, Big Foot, fisher cats, etc., etc.)

ROFLMAO...I still am laughing here remembering you telling me this the other night I think you should just turn your house into the zoo officially

However doing some research this is what I found about getting bats out:

http://www.batconservation.org/content/Batproblems (broken link)

[SIZE=2]If you have a bat flying around in your house, don’t panic. It is wise to nothe that all wild animals will bite if threatened so make sure never to touch a bat with your bare hands. If you think that there is reasonable probability that someone has come in contact with the bat, safely capture the animal with a butterfly net, box, thick towel, or leather work gloves. Put the bat in a secure container and contact your local animal control officer, and instruct the officer to have it tested immediately for rabies. If the test comes back positive (meaning the bat had the rabies virus), medical attention is needed. Contact your local emergency health provider. Reasonable probability includes sleeping adults, children who cannot give an accurate history of events, or a mentally incapacitated and intoxicated individual. If there is no reasonable possibility of contact with anyone, simply open a door or window and let the bat fly out. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Bats that are often found in people's houses are young bats that have lost their way. They may also be adult bats that accidentally fly through an open window or door. The first step in removing the bat from the home is to stay calm. If the bat is flying around, it is not trying to attack anyone, it is only attempting to find a way out. Turn on some lights in the house so that you can easily see the bat and the bat can also see (bats are not blind). Next, close the doors to adjoining rooms, open the doors and windows in the room the bat is flying around, and if possible, turn on a light outside so the bat can readily see the exit. The bat has very good echolocation (radar), but it is also frightened being in a human's house. More than likely, the bat will just fly right out the open door or window within a few minutes. You may want to be more direct and use a small mesh net or pillow case to gently catch the bat in flight. If the bat lands and does not fly again, there are other ways to remove it. First, put on a pair of thick leather work gloves, and find a small cardboard box or coffee can. Slowly walk up to the bat and put the container over the bat, slip a piece of cardboard or book behind it and take it outside and let it go. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]As long as the bat never touches anyone, there is no need to worry about transmitting any diseases or viruses. The Center for Disease Control recommends that anyone that comes in direct, unprotected, contact with wild mammals should receive rabies post-exposure treatment from a health-care provider, if the animal is not able to be caught and tested. Rabies post-exposure treatment should also be administered in situations in which there is a reasonable probability that such contact occurred (e.g., a sleeping person awakes to find a bat in the room or an adult witnesses a bat in the room with a previously unattended child, mentally disabled person, or an intoxicated person).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Steps to Follow if a Bat is Flying in Your House[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Step 1: Assess the situation. Was any one in the house sleeping or do you have children who cannot give an accurate history of events, or a mentally incapacitated or intoxicated individual in the house? Basically is anyone at risk that can not tell you for certain that they were not bit by the bat. If anyone was at risk contact your local health department immediately. Try to capture the bat so it can be tested for rabies. If not, follow steps below.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Step 2: Stay calm. The bat is not trying to attack anyone, it is only attempting to find a way out. Turn on some lights in the house so that you can easily see the bat and the bat can see as well.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Step 3: Close the doors to adjoining rooms, open the doors and windows in the room the bat is flying around, and if possible, turn on a light outside so the bat can readily see the exit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Step 4: The bat will probably just fly right out the open door or window within a few minutes. You may want to be more direct and use a small mesh net or pillow case to gently catch the bat in flight. If the bat lands and does not fly again, there are other ways to remove it. First, put on a pair of thick leather work gloves, and find a small cardboard box or coffee can. Slowly walk up to the bat and put the container over the bat, slip a piece of cardboard or book behind it and take it outside and let it go.[/SIZE]

[Valerie C]

First I saw the thread title... had a feeling... ayup it was from D2D (no surprise there...) I think your tinfoil hat must be emitting some sort of strange vibe to the critters out there

If and only if you are absolutely SURE that the bat hasn't bitten anyone, the best way to get a bat outside is to close as many doors as possible to limit where he can go (they are SOOOooo small!! and open the largest door or window in the area where the bat is. The bat will likely circle the perimeter of the room, he's trying desperately to get out. Tell DH to put away the broom, and forget about the tennis racket--if they can echo locate a mosquito they can echo locate a broom and get out a big towel or a sheet and work together to herd or steer him toward the door.

I had an interesting bat visitor last summer, and this worked, we got him out within 15 minutes. Having the dog and cat safely behind a closed bedroom door is best. I didn't do THAT vital step last year, and after all the excitement of the bat died down, I sat and watched TV (or maybe I visited City Data) and suddenly the stench of a skunk wafted through the open windows. First thought: phew!! Second thought: Where's the dog??? Yeah, dog was outside. Sprayed by skunk, such a fun night in my household... DH never knew a thing till he woke the next day asking "Why does it smell like skung downstairs...."

[Robhu]

I had a bat in my house a few years ago. I let it alone untill it decided where it wanted to park itself. That happened to be at the top of a window sill.
After it hung there upside down for 15 minutes or so without moving I got a thick towell and grabbed it and took it outside, shook it out of the towell and it went to wherever it wanted to go.
That was the only one that ever got in the house. Still don't know how it got in. It was late at night and no doors had been opened for hours and no windows were open. Maybe it came down the chimny for the fireplace. The damper was open but there is wire mesh at the top of the chimny, so it is stilll a mystery.

[DareToDream]

Thanks for the replies! Hubby is going to be a Jerry Jam doing the sound and performing this weekend, so I figured I'd check here to see if anyone knows the best way to handle it *if* I should find one while I'm here alone

NH2NCMom Thank you for that informative info! I never would have thought of using a towel. With my luck, if I open a door to let it out, I'll have the whole "bat family" coming in to visit!

Valerie C I'm retiring my tinfoil hat, I think....we just get the weirdest "visitors"! I can empathize with you about the skunk! Our dog decided to investigate one a few months ago and managed to get sprayed..unfortunately, we didn't realize it until she came back in the house with her "perfume" on and the whole house reeked! We then discovered one living under our carport - he left a few hours after we found him and we haven't seen or smelled him since....thank goodness!

Robhu Our first thought was that he had come down the fireplace chimney as well, but last night when hubby let the dog out, he saw one flying around the same door as the night we had our visitor, so we're pretty sure that's where ours came from.....

I'll be using a different door this weekend - one with a motion sensor light on it!

[WannaComeHome]

yep - the towel. We had one a few years ago also - didn't even realize what it was clinging to the upper corner of the doorframe! Poor thing was so scared flying around. But we couldn't leave a window or door open because of the cats. We finally tossed a towel at it and htat covered it. then we got a box and wrapped up the towel in the box and carried it out the front door. Gave new insight to 'bat out of he!!' Haven't had one since. Apparently they can (if they want) get through really teeny gaps.

[JFRRACING]

oh d2d you have had some pretty funny encounters in last few months it sounds...lol...ya you better get rid of that hat before you have little green men catching your signal....lol
just reading you indepth report on that bat had me ROTF for sure...maybe the bats trying to tell you , that you need to put up a bat house so he doesn't fly into yours...lol ..you should buy one of those fishing nets so you can catch and release......thanks for the good chuckle...lol

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by JFRRACING

oh d2d you have had some pretty funny encounters in last few months it sounds...lol...ya you better get rid of that hat before you have little green men catching your signal....lol
just reading you indepth report on that bat had me ROTF for sure...maybe the bats trying to tell you , that you need to put up a bat house so he doesn't fly into yours...lol ..you should buy one of those fishing nets so you can catch and release......thanks for the good chuckle...lol

If you liked that story, you should hear some of the other tales I have to tell!

When I was dating, I seemed to attract a lot of ... uh...eccentric types and used the screen name "nutmagnet"....maybe I should change my screen name to "crittermagnet" now that we're here in NH!

[Valerie C]

Fishing net is a great idea (yup, that was my first idea last year when we had our little night-time visitor) and guess what, didn't even slow him down--you would need something with teeny little mesh to catch one of these critters--and setting it free again might be an issue (feet, teeth, pointed little wings, lots of things to get tangled in...)

Funny bat story I haven't thought of in awhile. Back in my vet tech/vet receptionist days, we would get calls from people asking how to get rid of critters who had wandered into houses (usually skunks and raccoons through pet doors) One day, I answered the phone to hear a woman screaming that she has a %$&*$#$ pterodactyl flying around in her living room, and what to do about it. I tried to calmly explain that it was *probably* a bat, and that because he was out in daylight, she should call Animal Control immediately and let them know (bat out in daylight is a sign of illness, possibly rabies). She proceeded to scream at me and tell me that I didn't know what the %$&*^$% I was talking about, that it was a $#%&*%$*&# pterodactyl, and she wanted it out of her house NOW. My explanation that pterodactyls had been extinct for a few years, and that they had a 20-foot wingspan when they were alive only made her more angry and she hung up on me... Darn, I think it would have been kind of neat for Animal Control to go out there and take her pterodactyl out... It takes all kinds to make a world

Originally Posted by JFRRACING

you should buy one of those fishing nets so you can catch and release....

LOL Dare, I can't imagine that you would be one that would attract um eccentric types oh no, can't see that

Originally Posted by DareToDream

When I was dating, I seemed to attract a lot of ... uh...eccentric types and used the screen name "nutmagnet"....maybe I should change my screen name to "crittermagnet" now that we're here in NH!

[AngelaK]

I had heard some times you can get 'em with a pillow case??!! I know what not to use...a tennis racket......you just end up looking really stupid!!!

Just flash the Bat signal.......the Batman will come help you!!

REALLY....there is a man out there with a pest business and he is called the Batman. I saw him on TV once..............